Tuesday, October 22, 2013

More Geekery: Hand-Picked Zipper and Waist Boning

I'm a little pouty. I didn't finish my skirt over the weekend which means I'm not taking it on the business trip I'm currently on and not wearing it to the fabulous place that I am going to while on said trip.

Yeah. Oh well.

This is mostly because I made the slit on the wrong side of the lining. Naturally, I realized this only after finishing trimming the slit with this lace.

D'oh!!

So, I had to spend some quality time with my seam ripper. Oh well. So, instead of showing you the final results, let's geek out some more about the details.

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah: Hand Picked Zipper
I was really enjoying the hand sewing, so I decided to hand pick my skirt's zipper. Also, because this zipper needs to zip a snug corselette, I decided to use a metal toothed Excella instead of an invisible zipper for extra strength. Combined with the hand stitches, this should be a very secure closure.

I did a hand picked zipper once before, when I sewed a silk dress to wear to the wedding of a dear friend. I had a great recap of the skill in Susan Khalje's Craftsy class. But if you are not taking it, you can find the tutorial that she did for Threads magazine here. In truth, I think it's easier to master a hand picked zipper than a machine sewn one. The slower pace of sewing by hand means you have much more control of the fabric.

Hand picked zipper

I have a confession. I used bees wax which I pressed into the thread before stitching. You may remember that I once said something along the lines of "pressing beeswax into thread is not something that I ever foresee myself doing. Honestly, I think it would be just one thing too many - the straw that breaks the camel's back". Yeah. What can I say? I drank the Khalje KoolAid on this one. It was delicious, btw. There are many things that I have not foreseen; I'm glad I have the flexibility of nature to allow for a change of mind.

Have a Seat: Boned Waist
Gail asked a very astute question about whether I would be able to sit in a skirt that had boning through the waist area. The short answer is yes, I plan to sit in this skirt. But I thought we should have a chat since it's an excellent question and was a consideration. Here's how I know that I can sit...

First, this was not an original idea. Marina of Frabjous Couture sewed a beautiful high waisted pencil skirt with boning that she documented for Burdastyle, and which I had the pleasure of actually examining in person. So, others have done it before.

Next, choice of materials is one of the most important in sewing, right? Most RTW boning that I've experienced has been the horrible plastic variety that is rigid and when you sit or bend tends to dent inward poking you mercilessly in the ribs. It warps easily and, once bent, will forever jab you in that same place.

Top Rigilene; Bottom Spiral Steel

Thankfully, not all boning is created equal, and what is available to those of us who sew is light years ahead of the RTW junk. The two that I have tried are spiral steel and rigilene. Both are much more flexible than plastic bones and bend with your body as you move and then bounce back instead of jabbing you. I chose the rigilene, which is so flexible it comes on a roll.

Incredibly flexible spiral steel boning.

Lastly - and here's where I've got a question for all of you - after I sewed the boning to the corselette, I basted on a zipper and wore it around the house. So, I know that it is wearable. When I sew a muslin, once I think the fit is good, I wear it for more than a perfunctory try on. I walk down the stairs, sit on the couch, rummage in the fridge, head back upstairs, sit on the bed, pick things up off the floor... Am I alone in doing this sort of roving try on?

Anyway, as I hinted, I'm currently in London, crazy busy with work and not wearing my skirt. London friends, if you happen
to be free on Saturday morning/early afternoon I will be around - just holler. I know, I am terrible for giving no notice.

About changing your mind and using beeswax: I totally get that. I find that the more comfortable you get with your sewing skills, the more you are willing to add more steps and techniques. My first few projects I wasn't even willing to look at grain lines. The more advanced I get, the more steps I am willing to add.

The lace is incredibly gorgeous! I can't wait to see the finished product. Burda published a corset waist pencil skirt a while back and I made it twice and loved it. I should pull out those skirts (I never wear them now because they're not bikeable). I hope you got to have a little fun on your trip to London!

Welcome

Welcome to Clio & Phineas, where I sew and knit, run and bake, and make a mess in general. We even made a baby, Taco. Phin often gets stuck with clean up, especially now that we've had an addition. Feel free to send us an email at Clio[dot]Phineas[at]gmail[dot]com